Control system for compact disc phonograph

• US 6,212,138 B1
• Filed: 11/28/1994
• Issued: 04/03/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Merit Industries Incorporated N/K/A AMI Entertainment Network Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Rowe International Corporation (AMI Entertainment Network, LLC)
• Inventors: Robinson, Frederick G., Kalis, Jeffrey J., Van Dyk, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): MARTIN, DAVID S
• Application Number:
  US08/351,044
• Time in Patent Office: 2,318 Days
• Field of Search: 369/19, 369/30, 369/32-40, 369/233-236, 369/242, 360/71, 360/72.1, 360/72.2, 360/73.01, 360/73.03
• US Class Current: 369/30.06
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/305 for record players
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 17/228 Control systems for magazines G11B17/225 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/04 Arrangements for preventing, inhibiting, or warning against double recording on the same blank or against other recording or reproducing malfunctions
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/06 by counting or timing of machine operations
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2545 CDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/002 Programmed access in sequence to a plurality of record carriers or indexed parts, e.g. tracks, thereof, e.g. for editing; transfer of record carriers from magazine G11B15/68, G11B17/10; G11B17/22
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/36 Monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing for digital recording G11B20/00 and s.gr.; for monitoring, testing or measuring of TV recorders of the type covered by H04N5/76 and subgroups, see H04N17/06
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/0037 with discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/00375 arrangements for detection of physical defects, e.g. of recording layer
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/0948 specially adapted for detection and avoidance or compensation of imperfections on the carrier, e.g. dust, scratches, dropouts G11B7/095 takes precedence

Abstract

A compact disc automatic phonograph which records skips which occur during playing of a selection as well as cancellations of selections which occur as a result of the player not being able to read a disk, an excessive skip time or an excessive number of skips, as well as the times of occurrence of skips and cancellations for later review. Autoplayb and free play features may be set in terms of hours of the day and days of the week. Selections which have been made but not yet played may be cancelled after a predetermined interval following the time the phonograph has been turned off.

Claims

1. In an automatic phonograph having a compact disc player adapted to read from a compact disc encoded information as to the starting time, ending time and elapsed playing time of each selection on the disc, apparatus including means responsive to the starting time of a selection for generating a real elapsed time signal, means for comparing said real elapsed time signal with an apparent elapsed time signal read from said disc and means responsive to said comparing means for recording a skip when the difference between said real elapsed time signal and said apparent elapsed time signal corresponds to a time which is greater than a predetermined time.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 including means for cancelling a selection when the difference between said real elapsed time signal and said apparent elapsed time signal corresponds to a second predetermined time which is greater than said first-named predetermined time.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, further including means for changing said first-named and second predetermined times.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 in which said phonograph is adapted to play selections from tracks of a number of discs, further including means for recording the disc and track number corresponding to said skip and said cancellation and means for reading the stored information.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 in which said recording means is adapted to store the time of occurrence of said skip and the time of occurrence of said cancellation of a selection.

6. In an automatic phonograph adapted to play a plurality of selections and to be turned on and off, apparatus including means for making selections from among said plurality, means for registering selections which have been made, means for erasing from said registering means selections as they are played and means responsive to the passage of a predetermined time interval after said phonograph has been turned off for erasing from said registering means selections which have been made but not yet played.

7. Apparatus as in claim 6 including means for setting said time interval.

8. An automatic compact disc phonograph including in combination, means for storing a plurality of compact discs having selections recorded in the various tracks thereof, a player for playing said discs, means for selecting a disc to be played by said player, means for recording the number of times a selected disc could not be read by the player together with the identity of the disc and means for reading said recording means.

9. An automatic compact disc player as in claim 8 including means for recording the time of occurrence of the last failure of a particular disc to be read by said player.

10. In an automatic phonograph having a compact disc player adapted to read from a compact disc encoded information as to the starting time, ending time, and reported elapsed playing time of each selection on the disc, apparatus comprising:

means responsive to starting a selection for generating a measured elapsed time signal synchronized with a reported elapsed time signal read from the disc;

means for comparing said measured elapsed time signal with said reported elapsed time signal;

means responsive to said comparing means for recording a skip when the difference between said measured elapsed time signal and said reported elapsed time signal is greater than a predetermined amount; and

means for resynchronizing said measured elapsed time signal to correspond with said reported elapsed time signal upon the occurrence of said skip so that subsequent skips can be detected and recorded.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 including means for cancelling a selection when the difference between said measured elapsed time signal and said reported elapsed time signal corresponds to a second predetermined amount which is greater than said first-named predetermined amount.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 including means responsive to said recording means for cancelling a selection when a number of said skips exceeds a predetermined number.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 including first means for cancelling a selection when said measured elapsed time signal differs from said reported elapsed time signal by an amount corresponding to a second predetermined amount which is greater than said first-named predetermined amount, means for recording the number of said skips, and second means responsive to said recording means for cancelling a selection when the number of said skips exceeds a predetermined number.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 including means for changing said predetermined amounts and said predetermined number.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 in which said phonograph is adapted to play selections from tracks of a number of discs, said recording means recording the disc and track number corresponding to said skips and cancellations and means for reading the stored information.

16. A method for controlling an automatic phonograph having a compact disc player adapted to read from a compact disc encoded information as to the starting time, ending time, and reported elapsed playing time of each selection on the disc, comprising the steps of:

generating a measured elapsed time signal synchronized with a reported elapsed time signal read from the disc at the start of a selection;

comparing said measured elapsed time signal with said reported elapsed time signal;

recording a skip when the difference between said measured elapsed time signal and said reported elapsed time signal is greater than a predetermined amount; and

resynchronizing said measured elapsed time signal to correspond with said reported elapsed time signal upon the occurrence of said skip so that subsequent skips can be identified and recorded.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of cancelling a selection when the difference between said measured elapsed time signal and said reported elapsed time signal corresponds to a second predetermined amount which is greater than said first-named predetermined amount.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of cancelling a selection when a number of said skips exceeds a predetermined number.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of:

cancelling a selection when said measured elapsed time signal differs from said reported elapsed time signal by an amount corresponding to a second predetermined amount which is greater than said first-named predetermined amount; and

cancelling a selection when the number of said skips exceeds predetermined number.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising the step of changing said predetermined amounts and said predetermined number.

21. The method of claim 19 in which said phonograph is adapted to play selections from tracks of a number of discs, the step of recording further comprising recording the disc and track number corresponding to said skips and cancellations, and further comprising the step of reading the stored information.

22. In an automatic phonograph having a compact disc player adapted to read from a compact disc encoded information as to the starting time, ending time, and reported elapsed playing time of each selection on the disc, an apparatus comprising:

a decoder in the compact disc player providing said reported elapsed playing time read from the disc;

a clock that generates a measured elapsed time synchronized with said reported elapsed playing time at the start of a selection;

a processor that compares said measured elapsed time with said reported elapsed playing time; and

a recorder that records a skip when the difference between said measured elapsed time and said reported elapsed playing time is greater than a predetermined amount, said processor resynchronizing said measured elapsed time to correspond with said reported elapsed playing time upon the occurrence of said skip so that subsequent skips can be detected and recorded.